3 Card Brag

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SOFTWARE

William Hill’s 3 card brag gives players a chance to beat the house one on one. The dealer plays with only queen or higher giving players a fair opportunity to play an easy hand or frustratingly lose out on a big one.

Stakes

Players bet an anti of $/£/€0.10 to $/£/€1000 to play plus there is a pair bonus option offering the same minimum/maximum. Wagers do not have to be the same on either one, but the anti must always be placed before the game begins.

Playability

Once the anti has been staked you receive 3 cards with the option to fold or play. Play means an amount equal to the anti is automatically bet and both the dealer’s and player’s hands are compared. If the dealer doesn’t have at least a Queen or higher, neither hand qualifies resulting in even odds paid on the anti and the play bet “pushed”, which means it is simply returned to the player.

For players that prefer not to miss out on those big wins there is an option to play a “pair bonus”, which pays every time you play as well as giving high value with mouth watering odds on high hands.

Winning Hand Value

All wins against the dealer pay a standard 1-1 ante and play return plus on top of this, higher hands pay an additional ante bonus. For the more money hungry punters the pair bonus has an increased odds pay table and it pays out even when the dealer does not qualify with a queen or higher.

In 3 Card Brag all three cards play, so 2-5-8 Vs 2-5-9 means the later hand would win and the same concept is used for pairs, for example with A-A-4 Vs A-A-3 then the first hand wins with 4 high. The pair bonus pays evens for a winning pair.

A standard flush means all cards are suited with the standard win if the dealer is beaten. Bet the pair bonus and this pays 4-1.

A run (Straight) or running flush (straight flush) have their own little twist with the Ace, two, three combination beating all challenging straights then the next highest is Ace, King, and Queen and then King, Queen, Jack continuing down. A run pay pays the standard pay out and an additional 1-1 bonus, but a running flush will pay an extra 4-1. The pair bonus payout is 6-1 for a run and gives staggering odds of 30-1 for a running flush.

A Prial is 3 of a kind. 3 threes are the highest set followed by trip Aces, trip Kings and so on. Again the standard bonus is paid with a 5-1 bonus on top. By betting the pair bonus players will get 40-1 for landing any combination of trips.

Action is available through a casino download or an instant play feature found directly at William Hills’s website. 3 Card Brag’s association with poker hands has made it an instant hit and is well worth playing this version against the house if you can work out a strategy when to play, fold, or bet the pair bonus.